Bacon-wrapped Green Beans

Here's another crowd-pleaser at the dinner table-- bacon-wrapped green beans, specifically long beans or "sitaw" in Filipino. It's a great way to sneak in some veggies into your family's diet. I mean, who can resist something wrapped in bacon?

This was inspired by the recipe I pinned which is linked to Mo'Betta blog. If you want to view her recipe, click on the link here. Mine is slightly different, read on.

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 to 70 minutes

Ingredients
500g long beans, cut 3in long
400g smoked bacon
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp EVOO
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 200*C.

2.  Blanch the beans in salted water for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the beans is slightly cooked. Give it a shock bath in iced water to stop the cooking process and preserve the bright green color. Drain and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. On a cast iron skillet, heat the oil and fry the bacon until it's cooked but not crispy. Set aside and save the bacon fat rendered.

4. Wrap 6 pieces of beans in half a slice of bacon, about 5 inches long.

5. Saute the garlic in the skillet with rendered bacon fat until slightly browned. Transfer the garlic and oil in a small bowl and set aside.

6. Arrange the bacon-wrapped greens in the skillet. Brush the top with the garlic-oil mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until the bacon is golden brown with crisp edges. Serve immediately.

Makes 3-6 servings.

03 May 2012
Home-cooked Meals

Sautéed Mushrooms

Sauteed Mushrooms

Last January, we went home to the Philippines and spent a few weeks of holiday traveling from one province to another, spending time with our family and friends. It was our first time to come home as a family so a 3 week vacation is rather short to do all the things we wanted to do and to catch up with old pals.

with Ritchie in his crib

But, we did manage to keep our promise to one of our dearest friends, Ritchie, and that is to stay in his place the day before we fly back to Bahrain. He's got a lovely flat in one of the upcoming urban community in Manila. It's cozy and homey. And Ritchie made sure we are comfortable and well taken care of. He even went to the extent of preparing breakfast before he went off to work, (that's just one of the many things he does to spoil us by the way).

with the scoobies, Zara & Bershka

One of the dishes he prepared was sauteed mushrooms and I just loved it. It's earthy and buttery. And the garlic was not overpowering, it just made the mushrooms stand-out. What a great way to start the day, and to cap our short but sweet holiday. Though we live a much more comfortable life in the Middle East, Manila will always be home. It's because of friends like Ritchie that holidays are "more fun in the Philippines"!

And so, I remembered that breakfast when I was planning for my birthday brunch. So I thought I'd recreate the dish. I just added tiny bits of fresh parsley because greens makes everything better.


Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

500g fresh button mushrooms, quartered
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp EVOO
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add garlic, cook until slightly browned.

2. Add the mushrooms and saute occasionally for 5 minutes or until cooked. Add parsley, salt and pepper 1 minute before removing from heat. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.

Makes 4 Servings

If you like the recipes in my Barefoot Contessa Birthday Brunch, here are the links:
1. Hasselback Potatoes
2. Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic and Herbs
3. Green & Sunny Skillet
4. Flavored Butter
5. Roasted Garlic Spread (posting soon!)
6. Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes
7. Summer Iced Green Tea (posting soon!)


14 April 2012
Home-cooked Meals

Rocky and his Ninong (godfather) Ritchie

Thanks! Ninong, bye for now.

Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes

So here's the recipe for one of the dish I prepared on my "Barefoot Contessa" Birthday Brunch, hasselback potatoes, inspired by Ina' Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes. But my recipe was adapted from A Feast for the Eye blog. For her recipe, click here.

Here's my version of these pretty little things:

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
12 baby potatoes, washed and scrubbed
1 stick unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 200*C.

2. Grease the baking sheet with butter. Set aside.

3. Place a potato on a spoon and thinly slice the potato abouth 1/8 of an inch. Be careful not to slice all the way through. Do this for all the potatoes.

4. Melt the remaining butter. Add the minced garlic and parsley.

5. Brush the potatoes with the butter mixture. Arrange the potatoes on the baking sheet, 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Halfway through the cooking process, brush the potatoes with butter. When cooked, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese and leave for another 3-5 minutes to create a cheese crust.

Serve hot.

Makes 3-4 Servings

If you like the recipes in my Barefoot Contessa Birthday Brunch, here are the links:
1. Hasselback Potatoes
2. Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic and Herbs
3. Green & Sunny Skillet
4. Flavored Butter
5. Roasted Garlic Spread (posting soon!)
6. Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes
7. Summer Iced Green Tea (posting soon!)


14 April 2012
Home-cooked Meal